The chicken filling in these Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos is so juicy and tender. Delicious as a taco filling, in burrito bowls and more.Â
Don’t you just love that name ~ Chicken Tinga? Recently, I visited a local farmer’s market where a stand was selling tacos, including one filled with Chicken Tinga. I was instantly intrigued by the name and asked the vendor what was in the chicken. He rattled off onions, peppers, tomatoes as ingredients. The meat was tender and juicy, and came from a pot of thick red sauce.
When I got home that day, I googled Chicken Tinga and found a few recipes as well as a recipe for another chicken filling I’ve had at a local restaurant, Valencia Luncheria, in their Carlo Arepa. Both chicken fillings shared some common elements, so I took what I liked from each recipe and combined it into my own version of Chicken Tinga, made in a slow cooker.
If you want to see the recipes I used to come up with my version, check out Valencia Luncheria’s Carlo Arepa recipe and Serious Eat’s Smokey Chicken Tinga Tacos recipe.
Give these Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos a try. This chicken would be delicious not just for tacos, but in burrito bowls, enchiladas, on top of nachos, inside empanadas, and more.
The sauce is so good – don’t throw it out. Use it in this turkey pumpkin chili recipe.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 green bell pepper sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 large tomatillo husk removed, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 28 ounces fire-roasted crushed tomatoes I used Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped + 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from the can
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- sea salt to taste
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
To Serve
- taco shells
- guacamole
- fresh salsa
- Greek yogurt
- shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
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Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, green and red peppers, tomatillo and garlic. Saute until vegetable are soft, about 10-15 minutes, adding a little water if necessary to prevent sticking and burning in pan. Add tomatoes, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin and Worcestershire sauce. Continue to cook another 5 minutes. Place vegetables in food processor and process until just smooth. Season to taste with a little salt. Pour sauce into slow cooker. Gently place chicken thighs in slow cooker, covering pieces with sauce. Cook on low for 4 hours.
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Serve with tacos and your favorite toppings.
NOTE: Nutrition Facts are for chicken only.
If you like these Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga Tacos, you might also like:
Crockpot Shredded Hawaiian Chicken Tacos
All I can say is yum! I need my slow cooker!
Big fan of crockpot meals! Pinning and will make soon 🙂
I do love the name “Chicken Tinga” – but I must say, I’ve never ever heard it before – it sounds like such a flavorful dish!
I’d never heard of Chicken Tinga before either – always fun to learn something new!
I’ve been craving Mexican food since my 2 week trip to Spain and Portugal, and these tinga tacos look fabulous! Excited to start using my slow cooker again too, now that the temps here are a little more reasonable. Hope you’re doing well Jeanette!
EA – I hope you had a great time in Spain and Portugal – what fun!
This looks perfect for a party that I am having soon! I love slow cooker recipes for parties. And no, I had not heard of Chicken Tinga! Very interesting.
Tacos are great for parties aren’t they! Fun for everyone to assemble their own and choose their favorite toppings.
I love how this recipe came together!! isn’t the farmer’s market fabulous?! and the taco stand! 🙂 The chicken looks so flavorful and chicken thigh meat, hooray! My family’s fave! 🙂
I love the farmer’s market…too bad it’s coming to an end soon. There’s an indoor one that I’m hoping to visit during the cold months. We love chicken thighs – they stay extra moist and are less expensive than breastmeat.
On my Must Try list!
Recently I have been using my slow cooker to make chicken breast, but usually just with water, shiitake or some other Chinese herbs. I love this saucy flavourful chicken..would be fantastic to make sandwiches too.
This would be great in sandwiches – very juicy!
You make wonderful slow cooker dishes, Jeanette! I love the name Chicken Tinga and this is the first time hearing it. 🙂 It’s a wonderful weeknight meal that whole family will enjoy!
Nami – the name is fun isn’t it 🙂
I have been meaning to try this recipe. It sounds so full of flavor and really delicious! Yum, Hugs, Terra
What a fun sound to the name of this recipe, Jeanette. Love all the flavors in this slow cooker recipe 🙂
I see the recipe twice. One says serves 6-8 the other says serves 10. Then the nutritional info says per serving….but not how many ounces or cups or anything….a serving is?! Wondering if nutrition was based on getting 6, 8, or 10 servings?
Hi Sam, the nutrition information was based on 10 servings. I don’t remember exactly how much it made, but I’m guessing about 1/2 cup per serving (~ 4 ounces), which is the average amount of protein for a meal.
These look fantastic! We’re always on the hunt for new, healthy recipes to try. These look so flavorful! Can’t wait to recreate this recipe.
Hi Jeanette!! I LOVE tacos, I LOVE my slow cooker, I LOVE chicken thighs (they’re more moist and have more flavor than chicken breasts). Here on Maui we have fresh veggies year around. What could be better than that? I was intrigued by your recipe name “Chicken Tinga Tacos”. So I read how the name came about and how you incorporated your own ingredients to come up with an outstanding recipe. I tried it. It was a BIG HIT!!! Thanks for sharing.
Aloha ~~~ Nancy On Maui
Thanks Nancy!